


The Escort

by MarimoPunk



Category: None - Fandom, Original Work
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:40:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,537
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22120429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MarimoPunk/pseuds/MarimoPunk
Summary: a ailed nano i dont wanna get rid of yet because i may still work on it.the first "chapter" is actually just the plot lined out so i dont forget it.the main characters are both adults but dont have defined ages because the races age differently.





	1. plot

some background info that probably wont really come up otherwise but is important to know:  
https://marimo-punk.tumblr.com/private/190065905255/tumblr_gvT5j7xbIIUVJDemX

Tak is hired by the high court / Ciliana’s mom.  
has Cil @ the end of the city, regrets agreeing to the job already.  
need to get to next town but Cil is a shit and slow and whines constantly so it is slow, a letter from home reaches Tak; he decides the detour is technically along the way and goes.  
small task from Tak’s home town and Cil is forced to help.  
mini-bitch learns to bite her tongue.  
they make it half way to Cil’s dad/destination when a tiefling steals Cil’s glamour for a goblin tradesmen.  
Cil realizes that people aren’t treating her shitty for not looking like an elf, but they did when she acted high and mighty. [a personal revelation really] She starts to question her upbringing / view that prestige is everything  
Tak is hurt in the retrieval of the pendant, resulting in halt of travel for the rest of the day and the next. Find cave or make shelter.  
Cil willingly travels with Tak from this point on  
They do odd jobs with out complaint along the way.  
delivered to father.


	2. 1

Tak really regretted taking this job. It wasn’t at all what he was used to, and greatly underestimated what a hassle it actually was. Takduk Ironfang was not a baby sitter, he was a mercenary for gods’ sake!

The hair on his face prickles with more than heat or sweat as he tried not to roll his eyes as often as complaint rolled off his charge’s tongue. Now he understood why the escort had paid so well and thought it less of a steal now that he understood: they gray hairs he was surely growing would forever be proof.

Not a week ago he saw a flier on a post board in a town he had taken a job in about an escort ‘mission’. It was worded as though people still went by ‘adventurer’ and took 'quests’ rather than formal jobs, but it paid well and gained report with some of the higher ups in elven society so he took it.

The past three days had been filled with nothing but complaint how every step was the worlds most tragic inconvenience.

——

Tak held the folded sheet in his hands, on hand should anyone ask what he was doing in Ethuari in the first place. The last name of the contractor he recognized as one of the dignitaries of the city, thought not personally. It was one of the things he simply had to know for some jobs, that’s just how it was. Now, as to why someone of such high ranking would set out leaflets for hiring just any old scumbag was beyond him, and to his displeasure, drew his interest so that he was caught in this snare.

The city itself was not particularly his taste, with it’s blinding architecture and flamboyant shows of elegance at every turn; nothing like orc or dwarven architecture that focused on actual structural integrity. The stone choice was something like alabaster, but it still seemed to have some sort of ancient glamour on it to make it seem more luminescent. The benefit of night vision was that in glaring light it was not hard to see either, as the eyes had and extra layer that protected the eye that double as a focus in night. He did no envy those with lesser vision when entering such a city, surely they would be blinded by such flashy artistry.

This may have accounted for the lack of humans… or more likely it was the elves themselves. The younger ones didn’t look so bad, mostly human looking really, but the older the elf, the closer they had been born to the cataclysm, and thus more grotesque such as Seeli, who still dared to come into the public. Or the originals… who’s faces were rumored to be so melted and grotesque it was hard to tell where they started or where the bulbous bodies began. The age of thousands of years surely hadn’t helped them look any better.

Tak’s lips pulled against the thick tusks with a grimace as he looked up at the spire that indicated the capitol of the elvish territory; it looked nearly endless as he stared up at it from its base. At least inside he would escape the onlookers who had clearly never been outside Ethuari. He thought about dusting off his massive hands before pressing them to the door, but the thought of how some snobbish Sun Elf damning their whole day just to remove a smudge on some pristine stone brought a grin, and so he decided against it and pressed his thick fingers to the sun warmed stone and let himself in.

The spire opened into a wide open area, only slightly less radiating than the outside, the stares he received were the same. Mostly shock, which was understandable, he was used to it in some areas he worked in. Orcs had a reputation and liked to uphold it; most of the time they were scripted fighters for minor armies, and front liners for larger territorial disputes. To see a single orc, and one with out some weapon of war at that, was surely not a usual sight. Not many were mercenaries, or really anything that required working alone.

“Here for work.” He stated clearly as he could around his tusks to some androgynous High elf at what looked to be a desk… in some form. He presented the paper to them. There was still the general shock and apprehension he’d been seeing around the city at his sight, but the shock had clearly shifted to the job offer. Possibly more about the way the order had been sent, at least that made sense to him. It had shocked him as well at first. Still really.

The elf summoned a wisp and sent it off -some sort of messaging- then informed Tak that the dignitary would send for him when she was ready, and that he could wait in one of the chairs lining the room. The wait to come was expected, either because elves always took length in what they do with the time they have, or because they wanted to attempt to wait him out was irrelevant. He had brought a book to read in the inevitable wait, they could try.


	3. 2

The wait had not been all too long in honest. Not as long as he would have thought any way; only about two hours. Which given his past dealings with people of elvish decent, seemed to be no real slight, just simply that they take longer to do things. Everything seemed to have an odd sort of ceremony to it, even though the times had advanced since the warring era. Tak could find no fault in that, the orcs had their traditions still as well.

A wisp had come to the front desk when it was time for him to be escorted to a higher level, then the elf behind the desk had come for him and done so. Only five stories higher up than he already was. What greeted him was no real surprise. A small clique of like dressed evles, save one. Though he never really understood the meaning to their color ranking system, he did know that white was reserved for those of the younger kind. The ones who had not yet reached into true adulthood yet. Give the available party, he assumed that would be the one he would be escorting, though for having a mother of such high rank, he still could not for the life of him figure out why it was gone about in such a way. He knew to keep his mouth shut about the subject though; both because past dealings had taught him how to deal with high rolling clients and their information, as well as learning that to keep food on the table did not require personal inquiry.

“Ironfang, mercenary.” Polite, short, to the point. He offered an extended hand though he knew they would not take it. It was simple professionalism.

“A Mercenary?” One of the more masculine presenting elves to the back right questioned out of turn. There was no repercussion but he clearly had not been in high ranking given the reaction of the woman in deep red. She, presumably had been Madame` Lanethellyn, his would-be employer. Her ears both flattened a fraction and aimed to hear the man behind her more clearly, should he speak again. To those with out these ear muscles -such as goblins, dwarvs, or humans- this would seem nothing more than how an animal would react to a noise, but for Tak, he saw the clear unspoken warning and dipped his head in a slight bow with out breaking eye contact with the woman.

“Usually, yes. The season is dry though, and I would like to make ends meet for my family however.”

The woman nodded with such slight difference that her over-long near white tresses hardly moved. She then looked to her side to the slightly smaller woman who may as well have been a mimic with how similar they looked, save the length of hair, and extended her arm.  
“My daughter, Ci`liana, is whom you shall be escorting. She is to be a representative in a far reach that has yet to be assigned. The role will be an honor for her, but she will require safe passage from those who wish to impede.” Her voice was clipped with ice and clearly there was no nepotism in play here. The whole thing seemed to be saving face for something out of Tak’s business. He didn’t particularly care to ask about it either. The daughter in question seemed more acutely aware of the act and it showed clearly on her face. No shortage of disappointment or seething anger was spared for his sake nor those in present company. He bowed all the same.

——

The trek through town had been nothing but mumbling and gripping. Hardly something dignified for someone of this girl’s position. Loosely, he wondered how old she actually was, or possibly how far removed from the ancient elves she was to be acting so… common. The walk to the entrance of the town took a full day, he had planned to take an inn at the end of the city, but it seemed that would not be the case with the pace this child took. Hopefully once they were out of the city, he thought, she would see there was no way around the journey and just comply.

The inn they chose was closer to the center of the city than he had hoped, but the sun was not glaring off the stonework here and the atmosphere was slightly less posh than the rest of the city had been. It was a little ease, but an ease none the less. He had taken two rooms this time, as it would be a scene to do otherwise in a place like this, especially with her white robes still clear as day.


	4. 3

The lodging had been nice, more comfortable than most places he stayed, with a softer bed and running water. He didn’t care to think about how that worked, be it via magic or enslaved minor elementals. The looks he and his charge received when buying their rooms -at an obvious up charge- was less comfortable, and had taken a chunk out of his earnings for this little errand. More reason he wanted an inn at the edge of the city. Though he understood the culture here enough to know this could be seen as lewd, he didn’t care for the inconvenience it caused. He spared no hard feelings for the departure. Ciliana on the other hand, was just as much of a yob as she was the day before.

“And an orc- of all people! How could she be so- so… crass!?” Ciliana’s hands all by flailed as she complained. Tak had to keep stopping so that she could catch up with her snails pace, the grimace only worsening each tome he had to wait on her.

“Crass was it? What’s wrong with me then, Lulgijak?” Takduk Ironfang could absolutely be crass, he would show this little brat how crass he could be.  
She had already stiffened when he spoke to her, be it from it being the first real response to her whining he had given or because she actually knew the insult didn’t matter.

Ciliana bolstered herself, a small effort compared to the slab of muscle the orc before her was. The backbone presented was feeble but the effort was acknowledge all the same. “For starters, keep your filthy black tongue to yourself!”

“And what would you know of tongues?”Tak grinned and eyed the robes more than the woman. Normally he was not one to make a lewd joke outside of a proper place like a bar or with friends at a fire pit, or one to give low swings, but this tiny woman was just under his skin! She opened her mouth to protest but he cut her off first,  
“It’s clear you’re an over pampered daughter of some high esteem twat, but here with me you will do as your told. It’s my job to keep your safe and deliver you! Mabull. Nult.”

People were already starting to stare, the older elves who still knew black tongue from the old days glared and sneered. They were causing a scene, they both knew it. Given the area and the inhabitants, surely there would be a guard arriving shortly if they continued, and his pay revoked. Luckily though, what ever Ciliana had seen bounding up behind Takduk had startled her more than the present conversation and quelled the whole thing on sight. There were children screeching at the sight of this creature bounding towards them, and parents hiding them behind their ornate skirts; for no reason at all Tak realized, recognizing the ugly owl-like creature.

“What is that!?” Ciliana, like everyone around them, near screamed in over reaction. Tak’s shoulders slumped as he looked back to her,  
“Its a Chickcharney. M’son befriended it c’ple a years ago.” His accent had slipped but he didn’t care to correct it. He was already to tired to deal with the elf, especially now that a message from hom was standing there waiting. Or rather the bird was, the note fashioned around its neck with a simple cord. He read while only half listening to the complains of the beast’s ugliness knowing that they would have minor hexes placed on them for being fowl towards the beast. Tak handed it a piece of dried meat from his side pack and let it on it’s way with a mutual nod.

“C’mon.”

___________________________________________________

Translations:

“Lul Gijak-Ishi” (Lulgijak) – “Flowers in the Blood” (usually in reference to Elves)  
Black tongue – old language of the orcs. Most races have settled on common in the past century though.  
Mabull – shut, Nult – up.  
Orcish colloquial: http://www.angelfire.com/ia/orcishnations/orcishphrases.html


End file.
